West End Girls
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “West End Girls” | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 re-release
|
|||||||||||||||||
| Single by Pet Shop Boys from the album Please |
|||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Pet Shop Boys" (1984) "A Man Could Get Arrested" (1985) |
||||||||||||||||
| Released | April 9, 1984 October 28, 1985 |
||||||||||||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | ||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Synthpop | ||||||||||||||||
| Length | various | ||||||||||||||||
| Label | Epic, Parlophone | ||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Bobby Orlando (1984) Stephen Hague (1985) |
||||||||||||||||
| Pet Shop Boys singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
"West End Girls" is a song by pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe and was their first hit, reaching number one in the US and UK in 1986.
Contents |
[edit] Lyrics
The lyrics were written in the early 1980s. The title and refrain refer to London's divide between the traditional and working class East End and the cosmopolitan, consumer-driven West End.
The lyric "From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station" refers to the train route taken by Vladimir Lenin when he was smuggled by the Germans to Russia during the World War I, and to Edmund Wilson's book on the subject, To the Finland Station. There is further Russian Revolution imagery in the Bobby Orlando produced version of the single, which includes the line, "All your stopping, stalling and starting, / Who do you think you are, Joe Stalin?"; this line was removed for the 1985 version. Neil Tennant has a degree in history and his interest in Russian history is evident in many other Pet Shop Boys projects, such as their soundtrack to the silent film The Battleship Potemkin.
[edit] Releases
The single was first released in April 1984 through writer/producer Bobby Orlando's label, and although not a hit in the United Kingdom, it was a minor dance hit in The Netherlands, Belgium, France and the USA. This initial release, on Epic in the UK, featured a mainly instrumental B-side called "Pet Shop Boys". There have been numerous reissues and remixes of Orlando's version as he still owns the original recordings.
Having signed to the EMI label Parlophone and watching their first major label single - "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" - sink without a trace, the Pet Shop Boys decided to give "West End Girls" another release. After serious reworking by producer Stephen Hague, the track was re-released in August 1985 to greater acclaim. Stephen Hague suggested slowing the song down from its faster 1984 version. It was number one on the UK singles chart for two weeks and number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week (six months after its British chart success). It also was a Top 5 hit in Australia and throughout Europe. The success of the song helped the album Please climb into the Top 5 of the album charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
The video for the second release was directed by Andy Morahan and Eric Watson; it consists of shots of Neil rapping in various down-at-heel parts of London while Chris glowers behind him.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] 7" (UK) (1984 release) (Epic)
A. "West End Girls" (Original 7" Version) (4:14)
B. "Pet Shop Boys" (3:59)
[edit] 12" (UK) (1984 release) (Epic)
A. "West End Girls" (Extended Mix) (7:50)
B. "Pet Shop Boys" (Extended Mix) (5:10)
[edit] 7" (UK) (1985 release) (Parlophone)
A. "West End Girls" (3:55)
B. "A Man Could Get Arrested" (4:50)
[edit] 10" (UK) (1985 release) (Parlophone)
A. "West End Girls" (10" Mix) (7:05)
B. "A Man Could Get Arrested" (Bobby Orlando Version) (4:18)
[edit] 12" #1 (UK) (1985 release) (Parlophone)
A. "West End Girls" (Dance Mix) (6:31)
B1. "A Man Could Get Arrested" (4:09)
B2. "West End Girls" (3:55)
[edit] 12" #2 (UK) (1985 release) (Parlophone)
A. "West End Girls" (The Shep Pettibone Mastermix) (8:09)
B1. "West End Girls" (West End Dub) (9:31)
B2. "A Man Could Get Arrested" (4:09)
[edit] Awards
"West End Girls" won the Ivor Novello Award for song of the decade 1985-1994. It was preselected by the critics together with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (U2), "Addicted to Love" (Robert Palmer), "Creep" (Radiohead) and "Unfinished Sympathy" (Massive Attack).
[edit] Chart performance
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK | 1 |
| US The Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Norway | 1 |
| Germany | 2 |
| South Africa | 2 |
| Sweden | 2 |
| Switzerland | 2 |
| Australia | 5 |
| Austria | 5 |
[edit] Afterlife
[edit] Remixes
- In 1994, Sasha was commissioned to make two remixes of the track as a B-side for the "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing" single.
- In 2003, as part of the promotion for the PopArt album, DJ Hell made a remix that eventually featured on the 12" vinyl version of the "Flamboyant" single.
[edit] Covers and soundtrack use
There have been numerous cover versions.
- British boy band East 17 had a hit in the UK and Australia with their version of the song from the album Walthamstow in 1993.
- British girl band Mis-teeq used a sample of the song for their top-20 single "Style" in 2003 .
- In October 2005, Scottish band Blaknoisewhitesoul tried to use lyrics from "West End Girls" on a single called "Sometimes With the Pet Shop Boys", but an argument over royalties forced them to rewrite the lyrics and remove all references to "West End Girls". The rewritten single was released as "Sometimes Without the Pet Shop Boys".
- U.S. urban act Kelis used an adapted version of the line 'call the police there's a mad man around' (altering it to '...mad girl in town') in her 2003 track "Trick Me" from her album Tasty.
- West End Girls, the Swedish Pet Shop Boys tribute band, have performed a cover version of "West End Girls" live.
- The director of Donnie Darko was originally going to use the song during the "Sparkle Motion" scene but it cost too much for their budget.
- The band My Morning Jacket recorded a cover of the song early in their career. The track is available on their album Early Recordings: Chapter 2: Learning.
The song has also been used as incidental music on television several times, including a 1986 episode of Moonlighting ("Sleep Talkin' Guy"), a 2003 episode of The Simpsons ("Three Gays of the Condo") and a sample of the song was used in a 2006 episode of American Dad! ("Roger 'n' Me").
[edit] Influence
- The song title was the inspiration for the Jonathan Harvey television production of the same name. Pet Shop Boys would later work with Harvey on their musical Closer to Heaven.
- In 2005, a Swedish Pet Shop Boys tribute band named themselves after the song. West End Girls. Their interpretation of "West End Girls" was released in January 2006.
- In 2006, the song's lyric "From Lake Geneva to the Finland station" appeared in "Viva Life on Mars", a track on the Robbie Williams album Rudebox.
- Madonna is said to have been influenced by "West End Girls" when she recorded her 2006 single "Jump", which is apparent when comparing the basslines and synthesizer harmonies of the two songs. A long-time fan of the Pet Shop Boys, Madonna wanted a song that would be reminiscient of their idiosyncratic electronic sound.
[edit] Trivia
- Both BBC.co.uk and Allmusic.com consider "West End Girls" to be the first UK number one hit to be rapped rather than sung. However, New Edition's "Candy Girl" and Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You", which both feature rap elements, had previously reached number one in the UK.
- The video for the Flight of the Conchords song "Inner City Pressure" as featured in the second episode of the HBO show based on the band is heavily inspired by the "West End Girls" video. The song itself is performed to sound like "West End Girls".
- The song was used as a title for Degrassi: The Next Generation.
| Preceded by "Merry Christmas Everyone" by Shakin' Stevens |
UK number one single January 11, 1986 |
Succeeded by "The Sun Always Shines on TV" by a-ha |
| Preceded by "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single May 10, 1986 |
Succeeded by "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston |
|
||||||||||||||
[edit] External links
- Lyrics
- Pet Shop Boys Official Site
- All Music article on West End girls
- BBC2 Sold on Song article on West End girls
- BBC Nottingham piece on gangster film origins of West End girls lyrics
- Song Facts article on West End girls
- Pet Shop Boys at dead of night Fan site
